SLR Film Camera Portraits

Yashica TL Electro X [1968 - 1975]

Overview

The Yashica TL Electro X was the first camera with viewfinder electronic lights for exposure information (miniature lamps, not LEDs), and also the first with an electronically timed mechanical shutter that operates at any intermediate speed between 2 seconds and 1/1000th.

Two illuminated arrow-shapes in the viewfinder indicate over and under exposure, and point towards the direction in which the lens aperture ring should be rotated. Adjusting either the aperture ring or shutter speed dial until these lights go out indicates that the correct exposure has been set. To be clear, this was not the first example of a centre the light metering system, but a unique extinguish-the-light approach. The first camera to employ a centre-the-light and LED viewfinder exposure control was the Fujica ST801.

The electronic timing system allowed shutter speeds to be set at intermediate values. The shutter speed dial is click-stopped at each setting between 1/1000th sec., and 1/30th sec. The instruction manual recommends using these preselected speeds and obtaining correct exposure by turning the aperture ring. The slower shutter speed range has no click-stops, and the instruction manual suggests pre-setting the lens opening followed by turning the shutter speed dial.

The advertisement (below) gives the example of being able to set 1/278th sec., but the reality is you could not. What you could do is set a speed that was arbitrarily somewhere between two stops. The unprecedented accuracy claimed by Yashica could therefore only be realised at slower shutter speeds.

Information on the Internet reflects that many people writing and making videos about this camera fail to understand its key features. They commonly question why the slow shutter speeds are not click-stopped, reflecting their failure to recognise that it has a step-less shutter. The other common misconception is that the viewfinder lamps are LEDs.

The TL Electro X was a competitor to the similarly specified Pentax Spotmatic II, and shared its stop-down metering system. The claimed superiority of the Yashica's electronics was the elimination of mechanical component failure, however, unlike the Spotmatic, it only fires at 1/1000th without batteries. The word on the Net is that drift of the shutter accuracy, and meter failure are common problems today.

While the Yashica was undeniably innovative, and signalled the shape of things to come, it wasn't a big success, largely because the Yashica brand lacked the kudos of rival manufacturers. In my personally opinion, the other reason for Yashica's failure at this time was their innovations were incomplete ... in terms of offering realisable practical gains. The 1975 TL Electro X end of production date has been guessed on the basis that this was the year Yashica abandoned M42 screw fixings, and moved to the Yashica/Contax bayonet lens mount.

In 1974, when nearing the end of its production run, the camera was advertised in Amateur Photographer at £96.99, with an f1.7 lens. This was equivalent to a little less than two weeks average UK pay at the time. It also sold with an all black finish.

TL Electro X ITS

The TL Electro X ITS was sold alongside the Electro X from 1971 until 1975 (according to Camera User magazine's list of models in production in 1975). ITS stands for Integrated Technology System (according to The Contax RTS and Yashica SLR bayonet and screw mount book - Reynolds/Clyde [†]), but further details have proved impossible to find. However, obvious differences between the two models were the ITS came only in black, had a higher 1/125th sync speed, and wore little ITS badge. The X had a fancy Y on the pentaprism housing, which became a gold coloured atom symbol on the ITS (although in the advert shown left the ITS has a fancy Y!).

Most of the reviews and reference books I've seen (e.g. Hansen & Dierdorff's book - Japanese 35mm SLR Cameras, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science) misleadingly describe the changes made in the ITS: they contrast the ITS with the 1972 Electro rather than the earlier X (and cite the previous camera without qualification). The Electro was a cut-down version of the X, came only in chrome finish, had lights on the right side of the viewfinder, no battery check, an X-sync speed of 1/60th, and no FP sync port.

[†] - cited with thanks for information provided by site visitor Stuart Pratt

Shutter: Electrically operated Copal Square SE vertical travelling metal focal-plane shutter with variable speeds in the range of 2 sec to 1/1000th sec., where intermittent steps could be selected, but speeds of 1/30th and over were click-stopped, while those below were not. B and self-timer.

Battery: The power requirements seem to vary and are either a 6V mercury PX28 (use equivalent 6v 4LR44) or 2 x 1.5v mercury PX640 (which is available as the mercury free 1.5v PC640A). Take a common AA cell and see if it fits into the hole. If it does, use a pair of PX640s. If it doesn't, use a single PX28.

My Camera

I paid £5.50 for this camera (body only) in February 2014.

My camera is in good cosmetic condition, but sadly the meter does not work and no viewfinder lights illuminate, although the battery check system works. This suggests (fingers crossed) the fault could be as simple as a dirty contact somewhere: I'll get around to looking into it sometime. Meanwhile, I have replaced the light seals and mirror damper.

My TL Electro X has been coupled with a Yashinon DX 50mm f2 lens (thought to be 6 elements in 5 groups), costing £13.50. It's not quite the correct lens as it slightly pre-dates the camera, but Yashinon lenses are apparently quite desirable (expensive and relatively scarce), so this is the best I could get on a budget. It's a nice shinny chrome lens (not radioactive), and suits the look of the camera well.

In terms of handling, the TL Electro X isn't a camera I particularly warm to; it feels big and clumsy. Just look at the size of the lever that stops down the aperture and switches on the meter (if you can see it in my photos) - it's enormous. It reminds me of one of those plastic letters (used to spell-out messages) that adorn some folk's fridges.

Although the model initially seems to be a big step forward from the Spotmatic, in reality it is not what it claims to be. For example, the step-less shutter speeds are only partially realisable, and it's completely battery dependant. The meter light going out when exposure is correct is a bit counter intuitive too.

Despite all the foregoing criticisms, I bought the TL Electro X because it featured a double first in new technology advances, and these make it a collectable. In my opinion, I'd prefer to use a Spotmatic II, but Arnold Schwarzenegger happens to be one person who wouldn't agree with me: he used a TL Electro X back in 1968.

As I've touched on the other Electro cameras in the series (the Electro and the X ITS), I thought I might as well write something about the AX. This was a weird thing in many respects. It was Yashica's first attempt at an auto-exposure SLR. It had the same lights system, where lights-out was the indicator that exposure was within the cameras capability. As the shutter speed was set automatically (when set on Auto) the user had little idea what speed they were shooting at ... other than above 1/30th, at which point the under-exposure warning illuminated. However there was a green light on the top plate that flashed for the duration that the shutter was open ... something of a naff indicator of speed, which you obviously had to be looking at - at the moment of exposure - in order to see. The meter didn't work at all when the camera was not set to auto. Most cameras (without open aperture metering) require the user to stop-down to take a reading, but this had a button that opened the aperture to focus. The AX seems to be quite rare. It's easy to understand why.

YASHICA

The forerunner to the YASHICA Company began in 1949 manufacturing components for electric clocks. In 1953, under the name - the Yashima Optical Company - the organisation turned to cameras, producing TLR models called Yashimaflex and Pigeonflex. These were later re-badged as Yashicaflex, leading to the formation of the Yashica Company in 1958. A move to 35mm cameras was aided by the purchase of Nicca, who had started to produced original designs. The company was further enhanced by the take-over of Zunow, who had - at that time - some advanced camera design ideas. In 1965, Yashica introduced the world's first commercially successful electronically controlled 35mm camera, the Electro 35, a popular rangefinder model that eventually sold 8 million units. Yashica acquired a reputation for both electronic camera expertise and high-quality optics. In 1973, Yashica began a collaboration with Carl Zeiss to produce a new professional 35mm SLR with an electronically controlled shutter bearing the Contax name, and called the RTS (for Real Time System). In 1983, Yashica was acquired by ceramics giant Kyocera, but by 1985 the company was facing intense market competition from other manufacturers, especially Minolta. In response, Kyocera gradually repositioned the brand as a budget-priced point & shoot line, moving manufacturing from Japan to Hong Kong, and discontinuing all high-end SLR camera production.